Tuesday, February 12, 2019 2:12 PM Local Time
Matthew Zarcadoolas Wins Event #6, $400 No-Limit Hold'em ($9,901)
Matthew Zarcadoolas has won Event #6 at Circuit Coconut Creek, $400 No-Limit Hold'em. Zarcadoolas, a local grinder living in nearby Fort Lauderdale, earns $9,901 with the victory along with his second career Circuit ring, after eliminating Pedro Aldave during heads-up play.
Hollandale Beach, Florida's Aldave, a prior Circuit ring winner himself, collected $6,119 for the runner-up showing. Third-place finisher Kevin Johnson, of Antioch, Tennessee, who was the Circuit Main Event winner at IP Biloxi two months ago, cashed for $4,357.
Zarcaadoolas jumped off to a huge start on Day 1, building a stack he estimated at 130 big blinds by Level 10. But then, in his words, "I lit it on fire in, like, ten minutes.
"I was steaming and I said, 'You know what, I'm just going to go home for the day.' Then I run into my friend, Raminder Singh. He says, 'Matt! Where are you going? Re-buy. Jump back in! Jump back in!'
"So I was like, 'All right, fine.' He talked me back into it. I rebought, and I ended up running it right back up. I came back like third in chips at the final table."
Eventually, the event turned into a three-way battle in which Zarcadoolas, Aldave, and Johnson each took turns in the lead, yet it was Zarcadoolas who eventually won out.